It seems some things haven’t gone as smoothly as students would like at Bakersfield College this semester, including classes, book purchases and long waitlists. The same appears true with Kern Schools Federal Credit Union.
Since the beginning of the semester, students have endured a longer than average wait time for financial aid because of the jump in those requesting financial assistance. Students are also finding out that KSFCU now processes all of BC’s financial aid.
Joan Wegner, director of Financial Aid, spoke frankly on the subject.
“We may be down three percent in student count, but we’ve seen a 200 to 300 percent increase in the amount of students applying for financial aid,” said Wegner. “That’s why we’ve been so far behind this year.”
BC students have been understanding of the backlog, but some have replaced understanding with frustration.
Peggy Neville-Otero, a nursing major at BC, had problems with her direct deposit.
“I filled out my direct deposit forms when I opened the account back in July,” said Neville-Otero. “When my disbursement wasn’t in my account when it should have been, I was informed that Kern Schools never got my direct deposit forms and that I’d be getting a paper check.”
Vicki Brown, manager of the Mt. Vernon branch, offered her response directly to that situation.
“There have been issues and situations with students’ direct deposits,” Brown said. “We’ve done our best, though, to resolve those issues by stopping payment on the check and resubmitting their financial aid as direct deposits.”
Patti Reed, director of Sales and Business Development for Kern Schools also weighed in on Neville-Otero’s situation.
“That is very unusual,” said Reed. “There should never have been that much of a time lapse.”
Casey Woodruff, student services product manager for Kern Schools, indicated the number of students having problems with their financial aid was minimal.
“On October 16, we had 7,100 disbursements to handle in total,” said Woodruff. “Out of that number, 2,768 are getting direct deposits. As far as problems are concerned, I’ve heard of four or five students who have had problems with their financial aid.”
Woodruff however was quick to point out that the branches don’t always notify her of problems.
“I have three campuses to take care of which are all part of the KCCD system,” she said. “I don’t always get notified of problems with student accounts. I wouldn’t be surprised if some problems are being handled at the branch level.”
Woodruff did clarify however that the campus office always has a senior employee on duty who has at least two years’ experience that can address student concerns.